Russia’s Big Book Award

With a top prize of 3 million rubles, Russia’s Big Book Awards is one of the largest literary awards second only to the Nobel Prize. This year’s top winner was Mikhail Shishkin, who won first place with his novel Letter-Book. Letter-Book, or Pismovnik in Russian, bids a unique plot in which the story unfolds through letters written by two star-crossed lovers. The novel blurs the past and the present while the lovers seek to reconnect.

Vladimir Sorokin author of The Blizzard was awarded second place. The Blizzard archives the travels and thoughts of a doctor rushing to treat people suffering from Bolivian hemorrhagic fever, a zombifying disease, while driving through a horrendous Russian blizzard.

Third place was awarded to Dmitrii Bykov for his work the Sorcerer’s Apprentice. The story is set in Leningrad, revolving around the tales of Russia’s last Freemasons in the 1920’s. The Sorcerer’s Apprentice mixes history with magical realism in Russia’s grim past.

Big Book also honored Peter Mayer of Overlook Press (and client of Benay Enterprise) for his contribution in promoting Russian literature and translating Russian works into English.

So a big congratulations to this year’s winners and of course Peter Mayer’s amazing dedication and contribution to literature worldwide. 

Brooklyn Film & Arts Festival is Right Around the Corner

The Brooklyn Film & Arts Festival is the first original Brooklyn-focused film and arts program. The gathering presents programs that illuminate the abundant, diverse cultural history of Brooklyn. Since the first screening of Brooklyn films in 2007, the Brooklyn Film & Arts Festival has presented Brooklyn-focused programs in screenings at the Brooklyn Historical Society and Long Island University.

This year, the Brooklyn Film & Arts Festival is being held in St. Francis College Friday, December 16^th. The evening will be focused on the Brooklyn non-fiction literature program, with readings by five finalists for the Brooklyn Non-Fiction Prize with discussions with each writer following their readings. The winner of the 2011 Brooklyn Non-Fiction Prize will be announced at this event.

Following the readings, Brooklyn focused films will be screened to include: Under the Roller Coaster Directed by Lila Place, Hot Bagels directed by Nick Manning and Coney Island Winter directed by Doug Webb. After the screening, the public will have the opportunity to discuss the films with the directors.

The Brooklyn Film & Arts Festival will be open to the public so all are welcomed!

Get ‘Em, Keep ‘Em

Acquiring your biggest account is difficult enough, but maintaining a great relationship with that customer may be even tougher. Luckily there are a few tips to not only keep the relationship you have with your biggest customer, but to also keep them happy. In the article 5 Ways to Keep Your Biggest Customer, written by Geoffrey James for Inc.com November 8, 2011, tips to conserve your customer relationships are simple:

First you must differentiate yourself. Be unique and offer “must haves” the customer can’t find anywhere else. This makes the customer need your services and want to do business with you. Follow up with providing expertise. Share some knowledge and services that can be strategic in helping the customer fulfill their goals. Your customer will appreciate the extra effort, which will most likely assist in the creation of a valuable and ongoing relationship between you and the customer.

Don’t forget to create a high replacement cost—after the sale is made. This will help prevent the customer from replacing your firm’s products and services with any competitors. Next, really know the account. Become familiar with the workings of the customer account in order to be a part of their strategic planning. And lastly, generate reverse credibility. In short, a smaller company can help create a market reputation for a larger firm by helping the larger business gain credibility in a new market. This generates a strategic relationship between the small and large companies.

These are just some of the ways Benay Enterprises has been able to uphold great relationships with our clients. No matter how you run your business, remember there is always room for improvement.

Akashic: The Beast Master

It’s a battle for Earths very existence, as an alien race of religious extremists plans to ritualistically annihilation our planet. The only man aware of this imminent threat is an untouchable media baron by the name of Milan Marlowe.

Earth’s only move is to fend off the invaders according to their holy law and issue The Challenge of the Heretic—a winner-take-all gladiator battle for our right to exist.  In order to find Earth’s champion, Marlowe launches Beast Wars, a televised interspecies competition intended to select Earth’s
strongest champion. On a remote island, sharks, tigers, bears, and gorillas square off to an excited crowed.

Enter Bruno-bolo, a single father, blue’s belter, and alligator wrestler from the swamps of the Everglades. Overwhelmed by personal demons, corporatized killer sharks, Yeats-quoting pit fighters, and looming alien slayers, Bruno will rise as our distressed planet’s final hope.

New York Times reviews The Boy in The Suitcase

The Boy in the Suitcase received a favorable book review in the New York Times Book Review highlighting the books success here in the United States. The novel was written by two women about the criminal and inhumane mistreatment of women and children. Compassionately told from the female perspective, Lene Kaaberbol and Agnete Friis have written an exemplary novel where each character has a story to tell but none of them are pretty.  

The book deals with the repercussions of an alarming discovery. An old friend of Nina’s reenters her life with instructions on how to find a particular suitcase and a plea for her to protect its contents, but inside the suitcase is a nearly dead three-year-old boy. Nina’s attempts to unravel the mysteries surrounding the child lead her down a dangerous path. Cara Black, bestselling author of Murder in the Marais, says the novel is "…stunning. Hooked me from the beginning. Immigrants, the Danish bourgeoisie, and the criminal underworld collide in a moving, fast-paced thriller with psychological depth." Now that an English translation is being published, a whole new international audience can enjoy this exciting story.

The Fight Against Censorship

Introduced to the House of Representatives by Texas Congressman Lamar Smith. It is being called the “great firewall of America.” SOPA or the Stop Online Piracy Act is intended to drive-out copyright-infringing websites. The bill would allow the Attorney general to come up with a blacklist of websites that they see as engaging in infringing activity to be blocked by internet service providers, search engines, advertising networks and payment site all without a court hearing or trial. SOPA would also remove the safe harbor provisions of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act and require social websites that host user content such as: YouTube, Tumblr and Facebook to be held responsible for ensuring the blockade of user posted infringement materials.  Sponsors and advocates proclaim SOPA is needed to help U.S. law enforcement and copyright holders fight online traffic in copyrighted intellectual property and ensuing revenue and job losses. SOPA was introduced to help the entertainment industry combat online piracy estimated to cost $200 billion annually but has been met with fierce opposition.

Opponents call the bill pure censorship and that it will “break the internet”, cost jobs and that it will threaten whistleblowers and other free speech provided by the internet. Along with everyday internet users and internet communities such as 4Chan and Reddit the nine giants of the Internet: Google, eBay, AOL, Facebook, Yahoo, Zynga, LinkedIn, Mozilla and Twitter have placed full-page ads in the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Washington Post and the Washington Times as part of their efforts to fight back against SOPA. The blatant infringement of internet anonymity goes against the institutions that have been in place in this country since its existence. Democracy and the Constitution protect the rights of We the People and should be protected by every citizen. Fight internet censorship.

To learn more about Democracy and the constitution read: Democracy For Beginners and US Constitution For Beginners

The secret...Book Clubs

The opportunity to meet your dedicated and even potential fan base cannot go undone for published authors. In comes the book club. These meetings are the best opportunity to stimulate discussion about your work through social networking, online and public communities and other outlets. “Not only does our group of about a dozen buy the selected book,” one book club member acknowledges, “but when we connect to the authors directly, we tend to read everything they put out next, even if we don’t do it as a group.” 

Authors benefit with direct sales when attending these meetings. One author sold 30 copies of his first two novels to members and took home orders for 50 more copies. Though the financial aspect is rewarding, the creative critiques are also empowering to an author. Blunt questions directed to the author force the author to evaluate where the author is and how they can grow in order to make the next novel more appealing to a potential fan base. “The sales spike is minimal even if members buy future books,” an author notes, “but the interaction is invaluable. You’re building your brand and reader base.”

Along with other benefits book clubs can provide, authors cite opportunities to get members to post reviews on websites such as Amazon and Barns & Nobles and use them to promote forthcoming titles. All in all book clubs are an excellent way to self-promote your titles and get in touch with your fan base to better your artistic literature. “I usually come home feeling like a rock star” one author recalls the benefits are there. Go and reap them young authors!

Slash-Burn-Soho

Dr. Siri, Laos’s national coroner, was on the verge of retirement before he was dragged into one last job for the Lao government: supervising an excavation for the remains of a U.S. fighter pilot who went down in the remote northern Lao jungle ten years earlier. This was a high profile project that involved both U.S and Lao politicians, scientist and excavators. After on member of the search team was found dead, it set off a chain of mysterious murders.  As the bodies start piling up, Dr. Siri realizes there is more to this search than a dead Airman. 

Follow Soho through the jungles of Laos with this new gripping installment of the Dr. Siri mysteries.

Murder at the Laterne Rouge

After the disappearance of her long-time friend Meizi and the discovery of a dead shrink-wrapped body with her photo, Aimee Leduc can’t figure out how the murder is connected to Meizi’s disappearance. The mysterious dead body was sitting on a discovery that has France’s secret service keeping tabs on him now are following Aimée. A missing friend, botched affairs of the heart, dirty policemen, the French secret service, secrets and a murderer on the loose, Soho has done it again.

On-the-go Payroll

Did you ever want to have anytime access to human resources? Now you can with the ADP Mobile Solutions app. This mobile app allows employees of ADP’s U.S. clients to check their HR, benefits and payroll information whenever and wherever they want. Users are able to clock in, clock out and create time sheets. The app also allows access to company news as well as staff directory information.

The ADP Mobile Solutions app is available for the iPhone and iPad. Browser access is available with Android and Blackberry mobile devices. To find out more information about how the ADP Mobile Solutions can assist you with your HR on-the-go needs, go to http://www.adp.com/mobilesolutions/.